Broker Report on the Terminus Systems : the Circle of the Fallen

by LogicalPremise

This is an in-universe document story covering the history, ideals and formation of the massive Terminus Systems criminal empire, the Circle of the Fallen, including their membership, formation, and ideals. Written by the mighty Xabiar, with inputs from several members of the Editing Gang. Some of the concepts will be mature. (Complete)

4. Chapter 4

Xabiar's Note: Another addenda complete, I'm slightly surprised how fast all of these came together, narratives and all. It was enjoyable to work out the Circle given how there wasn't much on it before, and I think the final result is something pretty interesting. Thanks to LP for letting me have a lot of freedom in how to shape this.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing how all of this ends up in the story proper. There's a lot of ways it can go, and hopefully how it's set up makes any direction a plausible and interesting one. And of course, there's one last piece of all of this that will be the final entry in this addenda series.

Stay tuned for that one. You'll get a decent idea in the narrative epilogue for this addenda.

LP's Note: As with the other Broker reports, everything in this document will be entirely in-universe and usually with edits only to stylistic and linguistic elements and not to content. I've been able to give Xabiar a free hand to create because frankly in canon the Terminus is an illogical mess that has zero detailing.

The Circle's Rogue's Gallery, I assure you, will pop up in the PVRPG. Be prepared. And you can just GUESS which one I'm talking about, and I don't mean Golo.

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THE TERMINUS SYSTEMS – MAJOR POWERS

SECTION 3: THE CIRCLE OF THE FALLEN

SUBSECTION 3: PATRONS OF THE GREATER CIRCLES, PERSONS OF NOTE, AND THE PERFECT CIRCLE

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THE PERFECT CIRCLE

OVERVIEW: The movement which has taken root across the entire Circle of the Fallen is notable as much for its internal ideological diversity, in addition to the fact that it's a movement that is not necessarily expected from what is primarily a criminal organization. Its origin is a mystery, and an intense subject of debate, even as its effectiveness and longevity has yet to be determined.

Yet while its future is undetermined, it is clear to everyone that it is on the rise, as there is a clear desire within the Circle for it to be something more than a mechanism of power for the players of the region. Of course, this general idea is too broad for it to now begin splintering into different s not immediately stoke divisions and differences.

Perhaps the greatest hurdle for the ones who adhere to the overarching concept of the Perfect Circle is that there are some visions and divergences within it which are simply incompatible with each other - and no major leader or figure has arisen to push the issue.

However, the latter point will almost certainly be moot sooner than later. It appears only a matter of time before a leader of some kind emerges or rises to chart a course of the movement. When that time comes, it is certain the Circle will face a reckoning, and the result will set the course of the Circle for decades to come.

THE SPHERES OF THOUGHT: The different visions within the Perfect Circle are referred too loosely as the Spheres of Thought, or more simply as Spheres. There is little that is formal or official about this shorthand, but adherents have tended to recognize specific various ideas or strains of thought as falling within one overarching Sphere or another. From these foundations, agreements and alliances within the movement are made, debated, and ideology is further refined.

It is almost certain that one day there will be competition within these Spheres as to which particular vision for the Circle is ideal, but today there is an unspoken (and sometimes spoken) agreement that they support the underlying ideology.

There are four distinct Spheres within the Perfect Circle that have become solidified in the movement which deserve coverage, and the ramifications of them gaining power.

SPHERE | ORTHODOXY: The adherents to this Sphere are ones who fall in the camp that is most aligned to – in their view – the original vision of Venethix, which sees the Circle of the Fallen as a semi-federal state that has a stranglehold on the entire Terminus Systems, while becoming the undisputed center of power. Notably, this iteration of the Circle would have shorn itself of many of the overtly criminal elements.

They want the Circle to become the primary power broker within the Terminus Systems; a legitimate force that can reshape the region as deemed necessary by the Circle. However, they don't believe in the establishment of a 'state' or 'government' in the traditional sense, but an extension in many ways of current operations.

Even in their most conventional stances, they don't want to meddle or interfere in the day to day governance of worlds, nor inflict blanket standardization of government or organization across the Circle itself.

The Circle is an inherently unconventional organization, and those who fall in this Sphere believe that this element must be maintained. They are not anarchists, they aren't exactly criminals - but they don't want to emulate or become the Citadel, the Republics, or the Hierarchy. They believe that they've found the correct form of governance for the Terminus, and want to further refine that without restriction, or having to operate under Omega's shadow.

What this would mean in practice is that the Circle of the Fallen would likely become something of a region-wide governing body, where worlds, factions, and interests are folded into the Circle on the basis of importance, applicable power, and function rather than being controlled at the whims of the Greater Circles.

There are many internal debates as to what the criteria would be, how large it should become, and what, if any, restrictions would be applied. It almost certainly has the most internal divergence of any Sphere, and what an Orthodox-led Circle would look like has a lot of possible variance.

The Orthodox are in a very good position within the movement, as it is the largest of the Spheres in terms of following and adherence, though its broad appeal fails to capture the sheer variance within it, which makes it vulnerable to more narrow and refined visions drawing members away.

SPHERE | CENTER OF THE TERMINUS: If there is a moderate faction within the Perfect Circle, it is those who believe that inertia will propel them to prominence and domination. It is a belief that is unfounded either. Their primary concern is not necessarily the acclimation of power, but rather the degree of disruption to the wider Terminus upon gaining it.

They, by and large, believe that the status quo of the Terminus Systems will irrefutably change within the next decade. They believe that Omega's collapse is inevitable, and will proceed with or without outside intervention.

They also believe in the inevitable ascendancy of the Perfect Circle, and expect most or all members to be adherents in one form or another over this period, as the circumstances perfectly align for it.

They wish to use the Circle of the Fallen to become the center of power in the Terminus in a more prominent position – effectively displacing Omega as the hub of Terminus hard and soft power. They do not believe in a hostile takeover or radical shift in policy like the other Spheres do, as they consider it unnecessary in the first place because they perceive that they have already won.

What happens after the theoretical collapse of Omega and ascendant Circle happens is more nebulous, and curiously, those who fall into this Sphere believe that their direction will be decided by the other Spheres.

To them, adherence to this Sphere is a more effective means to the ends they really want – which is one reason why they are considered allies by most other Spheres.

SPHERE | OMEGAN SUPREMACY: The most unconventional (and controversial) of the Spheres is one which turns the very idea of the Perfect Circle on its head. All of the other Spheres require, or are precipitated upon the notion that for them to realize their ambitions, Omega must fall or become irrelevant. Whether this is instigated by the Circle or not is less important than the collapse of Aria's empire.

However, there is a small contingent of adherents – who don't get along with most other Spheres – who believe that this would be catastrophic for the region and the Circle, and the ideal solution is not to displace Omega - but have Omega commit to the Circle of the Fallen, and elevate it to become the face of the Terminus.

This would, in all the ways that matter, formally subordinate the Circle of the Fallen to the interests of Omega, and place Aria (or whoever controls Omega) as the unquestioned leader of the Terminus. One can say this is already the case, but the formalization is important, as it would necessitate changes in how Aria manages her empire.

The slight issue with the ideas of this particular Sphere is that Aria has yet to actually agree to it, or even indicate that she wants it in the first place. While she is almost certainly aware of the concept, she has either demurred or is yet to make a decision.

Even should Aria embrace this particular Sphere, it is not an idea without its own risks, namely that Omega taking even more control over the Circle might not be received well, and done improperly would cause disruption and chaos that other parties could take advantage of. Or put more bluntly, it could splinter the Circle and defeat the entire project.

Omegan Supremacists unsurprisingly do not get along with the other Spheres, though there is something of a cold truce, as for now they believe that elevating the Perfect Circle as a concept is universally beneficial. However, once the Perfect Circle reaches a critical mass within the organization, do not be surprised if the knives come out for these adherents.

Nonetheless, of all the Spheres that exist, it is arguably, and ironically, this one which is best positioned for success – should Aria find the idea worth pursuing.

SPHERE | FEDERALIZATION: Considered the most radical of the Spheres, the Federalists are those who see not just the Circle of the Fallen take center stage as the most powerful and important faction of the Terminus Systems - but those who see it become a proper state in every sense of the word. Federalists argue that the State is the next obvious evolution of the Circle, and that only a proper state is capable of administering the Terminus effectively.

They believe the Circle is ideally positioned to begin a transition to an interstellar government in the vein of the Citadel, which would keep some of the existing flavor of the Circle, but no longer would each Circle be fully autonomous or beholden to outside interests, but be absorbed into the state apparatus and answer to a central authority.

They believe that this is the only outcome where they can fully leverage the Terminus and bring the region into parity with the rest of the galaxy – as well as put an end to the criminality and chaos of the region itself.

Adherents to this Sphere fully acknowledge the revolutionary and violent nature of such a takeover, one which would effectively require the deaths of several members of the Circles, Greater and Lesser, and almost certainly a significant period of internal and external strife as the young state asserts its control over a previously lawless region.

Could it happen? Perhaps. It isn't as though there wouldn't be supporters across the Terminus who would want to see such a thing enacted, especially those who remembered Terena's original vision for the Terminus. However, it would be very difficult, and would place them in conflict with the entrenched criminal powers of the Terminus which have ruled for centuries now.

Yet none of this seems to deter the Federalists at all, to the point where some parts of the movement are mildly concerned with their confidence. Either they are fanatically committed to their vision, or they have some reason to believe that they will succeed. If the latter is true, I must admit that there is very little that could give them this confidence – and what could explain it portends nothing good for the region.

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PATRONS OF THE GREATER CIRCLES

OVERVIEW: Writing about the individuals who are the face of the Circle of the Fallen is a complex subject to tackle in the sense that this is not going to be a comprehensive history or deep look into who they are, what they've done, or the organizations they've run. Dossiers on each of these individuals are available for reference, and available on the Network, and as supplemental attachments to this report.

This section will be focusing on the direct work and impact of these individuals on the Circle of the Fallen, and how it ties into their larger plans, strategies, or schemes concerning their operations in the Terminus.

There is a reason that all of these Patrons have appointed dedicated Circle Commanders for their respective Circles. With a few exceptions, most of them view the Circle as another aspect or arm of their operations, not something any of them are fully dedicated to.

This approach may change in the future, but for many of them, their direct attention to the Circle proper remains reserved for now.

KALTOTH, DEPTHWALKER OF THE PROFANE GATE: Perhaps the most infamous Volus alive, and certainly the most powerful and important Volus in the Terminus Systems, Kaltoth is perhaps the one patron who does not see the Circle of the Fallen as a mere branch of her organization, a means to an end, or apathetic to it entirely.

For Kaltoth, the Circle of the Fallen has a very distinct and important place in the Terminus Systems framework. She sees the potential in the Circle as a whole, and no matter what form it takes – and she wants to either control it, or otherwise retain significant influence over it regardless of the outcome.

Kaltoth has poured tens of millions of credits into the Circle of the Fallen. She has personally made sure the Circle has never faced financial hardship, ensured its people are paid, and that many Circles are reliant on the Circle of Economics - and the people who support them.

Kaltoth more than any others appears to be laying the groundwork to emerge as the most powerful of the Greater Circles – provided certain things happen or play out in an expected way. She is paying close attention to the Perfect Circle movement, and is less devoted to one Sphere or another as making sure that she retains power should any of them gain influence.

The Circle is an investment of multiple kinds to Kaltoth. It is diplomatic, political, military, and business all at the same time. She has successfully positioned herself in such a way so that no matter what form the Circle takes, be it remain in a status quo, or become radically changed, she and the Profane Gate will remain an indispensable part of it.

That is where she wants to be, and she remains a player that no one can risk underestimating at the risk of being another of the many bodies that have fallen to her before.

FEN, REMEMBRANCE DANCER: The leader of Remembrance is widely viewed as the most enigmatic of the figures within the Greater Circles. Fen's leadership of Remembrance, usually classified as an assassination guild or a mercenary organization, has been defined less by fact and observation, and instead by the rumors and fantastical.

The myriad of rumors, stories, claims, and lies surrounding it is not for this report, nor are those surrounding Fen himself. What is important about Fen is this – he is a former Remembrance Dancer, a fact that he does not hide, he is almost certainly the most dangerous assassin alive, and he is not a member of the Six Hundred.

The last fact is important.

There is conflicting information on if Fen remains in the employ of the Hanar or not, but considering that there is no such thing as a 'former' Remembrance Dancer who directly leaves Kahje, it is almost certain that he is responsive to tasking from the Hanar if they demanded it. However, he does not seem to retain a desire to execute the agenda of the Hanar, and can be considered a relatively independent actor.

Fen's reasons for aligning with the Circle of the Fallen are a mixture of personal pursuits and business interests. Obviously, emmeshing himself in the power structures containing some of the most influential people in the Terminus comes with certain perks - which he is all too willing to indulge in when the situation demands, and place himself or his subordinates in.

However, Fen has never been one to be obsessive or care about the attention, wealth, or power of the most influential of the Terminus. Rather, it is likely his personal reasons for entering the Circle have driven his interest and actions in the organizations – primarily, his personal quest to locate and kill the last of the Six Hundred.

It is unclear why Fen personally views the Six Hundred with such contempt – but only in the sense that we do not know what his direct history is with them. We know very well he has many valid reasons for hating them. Considering the Six Hundred led to the destruction of Rakhana and the near-extinction of the Drell species, it is not difficult to imagine why he would wish for their deaths.

Of course, one might ask why he has not returned to Rakhana where we know at least one of the Six Hundred openly rules, with at least three known allies. The likely answers are rather straightforward. Fen is wary of challenging any of them in an environment that they nominally control, and has yet to develop enough courage or confidence to return and take out the most obvious target.

This is a very personal quest for him, one which he has never openly shared with any except his most trusted or closest friends. The Six Hundred are perhaps the only ones who have ever given Fen pause, and we do not know how successful he has been on his quest, though I believe that he has killed at least one of the Six Hundred since joining the Circle.

This focus, and personal view of the Circle of the Fallen as a repository for information and intelligence leads to him often taking little direct part in its affairs, though he will make an effort to remain up to date on important developments.

GOLO'MEKK VAS OMEGA: Contrary to what seems to be a popular perception, Golo understands that he is in a precarious position within the Circle of the Fallen, and how widely hated he is by the Lesser Circles, let alone the rank and file.

It would be incorrect to say that he doesn't care - but the hate directed towards him or his organization does not bother him. Golo is used to being one of the most loathed individuals in the galaxy, and views the hatred of others with amusement more than irritation.

He certainly isn't hurt or offended by it, and the fact that it comes from the Circle – made up mostly of criminals – is something he finds extremely ironic, considering that such standards never existed before.

At the same time, he considers it important to make sure that the Circle of Innovation is fulfilling what they are expected to. With this understood, he also primarily uses his place within the Circle as a means to an end, which translates into the refinement, improvement, and expansion of HIVE, his personal organization. Golo, more than any of the other Patrons, sees the Circle in the most clinical and pragmatic light.

It is almost certain that Golo believes that he will be ousted one day, and he will fall out of favor with too many members of the Circle, with or without Aria's blessing. This personal belief does not seem to affect him, or necessarily alter his calculus. He knows that his position is not legitimate in the eyes of the Lesser Circles, and there is nothing he can do to change that – and thus views any efforts to build goodwill or engage in diplomacy as a waste of time.

This is not an inaccurate assessment on his part. There is almost certainly nothing Golo could do that would affect the perception many in the Circle have of him, for better or worse. Therefore Golo has determined to not bother with the pretense, and intends to get as much out of the Circle as he can before he loses access.

This doesn't mean making stupid mistakes, but merely doing the minimum expected, and seeing how long it takes before there are consequences. Given how things have currently gone, it seems unlikely Golo will be going anywhere anytime soon.

EDAT KURASS, THE SHIFTER: The Shifter has always held the Circle of the Fallen at a comfortable distance. He has been present when required, he has done his job as expected, he has contributed when needed - but of all the Patrons of a Greater Circle he has personally invested the least into it.

Part of this is likely due to his innately paranoid nature, and ensured that he has nothing invested in the Circle of the Fallen that he cannot lose. However, it is also because he is deeply distrustful of, or outright dislikes people on the Circles Greater and Lesser alike, and therefore unwilling to interact with or empower them beyond necessity.

He appears to consider the Circle useful for keeping tabs on important and influential people in the Terminus, and having a mechanism to directly interface with them when necessary. When it comes to intelligence and information, that's his field, and he has less of an overt need for what the rest of what the Circles provides.

That he also lacks major political ambitions in the Terminus further reduces his personal investment in the organization, nor a true desire to entrench his own organization in it. Without these motivators, the Shifter really has no need to become deeply tied to the Circle in a major way.

If the Circle of the Fallen were to collapse tomorrow, then it is very likely that it would be the Shifter who is the least affected by it. This isn't to say that the Shifter doesn't consider the Circle useful or important – he does – but it isn't something that he's deeply attached to. It is for this reason that he's not done much to interfere with, or influence the Perfect Circle movement.

He'll keep his position within it, but don't look for him to actively seek to influence it. Not unless something unexpected happens, or the situation greatly changes.

ARIA T'LOAK, SOVEREIGN OF OMEGA: Aria T'Loak's relationship with the Circle of the Fallen is a curious one. She would not necessarily be blamed if she treated it as Golo did, which is as a means to an end, or a formality. While one could make an argument that this is how she treats it, the facts do not bear this out.

Aria may not take a personal interest in it in the same way someone like Venethix or the Lesser Circles do – but she does clearly consider it an important part of her operations. She picks qualified and competent people to run the Circle of Logistics, which has subsequently been responsible for massive improvements to every Circle, and the respective member organizations.

Aria is perfectly content to let the day-to-day affairs be managed by her Circle Commander, who is trusted to be aligned with Aria's agenda. Aria will also attend meetings and interact as required without complaint or excuses.

However, it is critical to understand that the reason Aria does this is because she ultimately considers the Circle of the Fallen inherently subordinate to the interests of Omega. She, in not so many words, considers the Circle of the Fallen a somewhat more independent and useful power compared to, say, a member of the Omegan Congress.

She views the actions of the Circle as mutually beneficial to Omega as well, which isn't surprising since all members are tributaries and their success is reflected in their tithes to Omega. She is the reason the Circle isn't viewed as the centralized power they should be – because Aria's mere presence reveals that they are subordinate to Omega.

The idea of the Circle of the Fallen taking a more independent stance or diverging from Omega's core interests is unthinkable to her, and clear enough that she'd seen little reason to obsessively interfere. The ambitions, plans, or possibilities of what the Circle could mean for the Terminus are simply unimportant to her.

The Circle is, and will always be subordinate to Aria T'Loak. If this should change, it is unlikely that Aria would take it lightly.

VENETHIX VAROK, SIX SINS, COMMANDER OF FACINUS: The founder of the Circle of the Fallen is a female turian who, more than any others, holds its ultimate destiny in her hands. She holds an interesting place in the power dynamics of the Circle as a result.

She is not as wealthy as Kaltoth, she is not the hegemon of the Terminus like Aria, she is no intelligence savant like the Shifter, but if there is a heart and mind to the Circle of the Fallen, many would look to Venethix Varok as it. This is her organization, one that she knows intimately, and whose vision for it is something that inspires beyond mere affiliation or loyalty.

Her crimes and actions that she committed are overlooked among the rank and file of the Circle. She holds a respect beyond Facinus, and there is no one who disputes that she has an interest in, and genuine desire to see the Circle succeed and become more than what some may wish it to be. This is, ultimately, what her life has been building to.

The Circle is her legacy, more than Facinus, more than any individual action she might take. Depending on what the Circle achieves, or what it becomes, she will be remembered as someone who was responsible for changing the galaxy – or the leader of a mere terrorist organization, to be reduced to a footnote in history.

Her ambitions are not so small.

She is certain that the Circle of the Fallen should be more than what Aria wishes it to be, but she is understandably wary of taking any actions which might bring everything crashing down. She doesn't want to make an enemy of Aria, but nor does she want to be shackled to her forever. It is this hesitation which keeps her from committing to any Sphere of the Perfect Circle, or shaking the status quo in a tangible way.

What choice she makes heavily depends on the people advising her, and if Eiron has his way, there will come a day when Venethix will step forward and change the Terminus forever.

However, it has become clear that if she makes this decision, she will only strike should an opportunity arise – no earlier, and no later. What the Terminus will look like afterwards is unclear, but no one would be surprised to see it led by the woman who founded it, and who wishes to see her vision of a central Terminus power brought to completion.

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PERSONS OF NOTE

G'DORA T'HERIEM'AS, HOLDER OF THE GOLDEN CHALICE

SPECIES: Batarian

GENDER: Male

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Sapient Resources

BIOGRAPHY: There is a certain throughline with Batarians with any relevance or influence throughout the galaxy, and it is that they are, in a word, often stereotypical. Is there anything that significantly distinguishes G'dora T'heriem'as significantly from other high-caste batarians?

The answer depends, to some degree, on your point of view.

T'heriem'as embodies everything that you expect from Batarians. He is brutal, racist, amoral, and fulfills every single stereotype one can imagine. However, to think of T'heriem'as as merely stereotypical is to do a disservice to how distasteful he truly is. Each Batarian has their particular quirks, and T'heriem'as is like many Batarians, only more so.

A safe assumption to make is that people are smarter and more clever than you believe. It is far better to believe your enemy is smarter than you than the opposite. This is a truism that is often cast aside when it comes to Batarians who can become almost absurdly egregious to the point of seeming stupidity.

Do assume T'heriem'as is stupid. He has successfully run a major slaving operation for decades, and was successful enough to gain a place within the Circle of the Fallen. Of all of the Lesser Circles, he is the most openly ambitious, and has made no secret about his intention to ascend into the Greater Circles – something he believes he is owed.

However, he is one of the few who view their role in the Circle as equivalent to, or greater in importance to their existing operations. T'heriem'as continues to manage a regular clientele, keeps his contacts on Khar'Shan informed of developments, and has resources and habits that other Circles of Authority do not truly have.

This is an ambitious and dangerous individual who may be considered the weakest link of the Circle, and conversely one of its more dangerous characters.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: T'heriem'as, like most Batarians, is obsessed with power and its application. One of the most useful insights into any Batarian is to review their sexual tastes, and the rule holds true with the so-called Holder of the Golden Chalice, the title of which is a reference to an artifact that T'heriem'as claims once graced the Emperor's lips.

Slaves are a staple of Batarians, and they have preferences when it comes to them, be it gender, species, or function. Most individuals who have slaves prefer them to be docile and obedient. T'heriem'as has no interest in his personal slaves being submissive.

His preferences are several steps outside the norm. He intentionally chooses his personal slaves based on their resistance to service, for he enjoys the process of breaking them. He enjoys them fighting as he forces himself upon him, which is a self-admitted pleasure, one which he thinks places him above the softer masters who only care for the docile.

This appears to be the only thing which he derives personal pleasure from. Once a slave of his has been thoroughly broken, he will discard, execute, or give to a subordinate or friend, before finding another one. It is actually in the interest of his slaves to resist as long as possible, else they will soon be discarded.

A small harem of semi-broken slaves he hasn't become bored with is never far behind him either, and he delights in the mind games he intentionally plays by sometimes intentionally giving them opportunities to fight back or kill him.

Sadly, none have been successful.

Right now his favorite slaves consist of two Drell women and one Turian woman. He tends to prefer both species due to them often being more resistant, though there have been Humans and Asari occasionally seen. He doesn't bother with Quarians, as he sees them as too fragile (this does not stop him from selling them as slaves).

He has a very specific philosophy around the slave trade, which is that there is an art to the sale and usage. He actually finds the mass sale of slaves for labor a dull, if necessary part of the trade, and instead personally delights in finding the best 'matches' in his words for clients that best compliment and serve them.

This should not ever be misconstrued as T'heriem'as ever considering the well-being of a slave – he views slaves as commodities, perhaps equivalent to a personal starship, or a luxury apartment. He is a very good salesman, and is well-liked by anyone within the business, while being loathed by everyone else.

To T'heriem'as, a lack of slaves betrays an inherent psychological weakness which does not accept the inherent power dynamics of the universe. There are only a few individuals T'heriem'as bothers to respect in the Circle, and their view of slavery greatly shapes his opinions.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: T'heriem'as intends to ascend to the Greater Circles and inklings of how he intends to do it have revealed themselves over the previous months. T'heriem'as has correctly identified Golo as the weak point of the Circle, and has latched onto his illegitimacy to push himself more into the spotlight.

This is a rather notable shift, and betrays just how badly T'heriem'as wants to be in the Greater Circles, as if there is anyone who should get along best with a slaver, it is Golo. However, ambition trumps possible allyship, and T'heriem'as has shown notable tact in his approach and softened the overall perception of him.

The actions of T'heriem'as' Circle in providing slaves throughout the Circle has engendered some goodwill among the rank and file in certain Circles, who are less ambitious and willing to potentially support a bid for ascension if only to displace Golo. T'heriem'as himself believes that his contributions have helped the Circle thrive, and is self-aware enough to know how much to push, and when to back off.

Right now he is focused on testing the waters, and if he can force the Greater Circles to take his positions more seriously. He has not decided yet on how hard he is going to push the issues, but it is likely that he is going to keep making attempts so long as he is allowed to do so without consequences.

If this is successful is to be determined, but T'heriem'as vastly overestimates his internal influence and popularity within the Circle of the Fallen, though if he plays his cards correctly, he could gain the general support of the Lesser Circles if it displaces the illegitimate Golo. Many may hate T'heriem'as and what he stands for, but that is secondary towards their distaste for Golo who they see as a true outsider.

Concerning the Perfect Circle, T'heriem'as' hold on his Circle, and the individuals who tend to work directly within it, make it impossible for any part of the movement to take hold. Slavery is not something that all of the Circle is comfortable with, and others are simply prejudiced against Batarians, while the Greater Circles view him as an irritant than a threat.

Time will tell what fate T'heriem'as meets, and while it seems unlikely he'll be able to overcome the obstacles to achieve his ambitions, it would be wise for everyone to not underestimate him.

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SHUN XIONG, COMMANDER OF THE RED RIDERS

SPECIES: Human

GENDER: Female

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Procurement

BIOGRAPHY: If there is a constant within the Terminus Systems, it's that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to who can be successful or rise to prominence. Background, experience, education, and skill all contribute, but there have been countless people who should have succeeded, but failed or were beaten out by others.

Shun Xiong is unremarkable in most ways. She grew up on Ilium to a lower-class family, but was never involved in crime. While times were tight (relatively, for Ilium), she was never in chronic poverty. She was an average student, who preferred to spend her time playing contact sports with turians, before ultimately graduating with a degree in accounting.

A completely average person without any hard or traumatic background, nor any standout skills. A woman who now leads one of the most complex smuggling operations in the Terminus. One might argue that this doesn't happen without an explanation, while failing to overlook a rather obvious fact.

People can change, and they can improve.

Shun may not have been a criminal, but she was on Ilium, which is not a bastion of what the rest of the galaxy considers legality. Ilium is a word where corporations dominate, where murder is handled with fines, indentured servitude is normal, and positions are awarded or rigged based on donations, bribes, or connections.

Shun grew up in this environment and was inured to the idea that legality was something that mattered from a young age. So when she started using her position as an accountant in a moderately sized asari arms corporation to start skimming credits, and realized she could get away with it, she appeared to discover what she really wanted to do.

She used her time in the corporate world and defense sector to gain experience in skills that she would later take to the Red Riders. She started developing her little corner of the black market on Ilium, first to friends, before expanding to organized crime. She skimmed credits and cooked books, becoming significantly wealthier in a short time (though took steps to obfuscate it).

She became intimately familiar with the systems, protocols, and procedures that allowed movement of her goods, and how to subvert or exploit them. She didn't run a large operation at the time, she simply became better at what she did, mostly because she didn't do anything mind-numbingly stupid. Not every criminal is a moron or a savant, a lot of them are people like Shun who can pace themselves, make small mistakes, but not major ones, and develop their craft.

In that way there is something almost inspiring about her self-made success. Eventually she bailed after she thought they'd caught onto her, but by that time she had more than enough to start over wherever she liked. This brief period of reflection appeared to solidify her direction in life, as she accepted she had something she was good at, and more importantly, wanted to do.

The foundation of the Red Riders was an effort that took several years to develop, with quite a few experiments and proof of concepts tested throughout the Terminus, before she moved into full operations. While relatively new as a smuggling outfit appearing in the last decade, its reputation and success eventually got the attention of the Circle of the Fallen whom they eagerly joined.

Shun's efforts have certainly borne fruit, and it seems likely that given enough time and resources, she could very well become one of the most successful people the Terminus has ever seen, certainly within the ranks of smugglers.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: Shun is a woman whose natural inclination is to do what is necessary to succeed, but is not incentivized to push beyond for its own sake. It appears that if she truly feels passionate about something, she will put in the work – but if she doesn't care, or believes it an obligation, she'll do a little more than the bare minimum, but not enough to be exceptional.

As pointed out earlier, she was an average student. She was not a bad student. She got decent grades, but was never on the lists of exemplary students. Could she have? Almost certainly. Did she want to? No, she didn't, therefore didn't put in the effort.

What changed to bring her to this point? There is a simple explanation that is only apparent if you know her whole story, and why she never saw a reason to push more. She didn't think it mattered. She grew up on Ilium, in a family who were nobodies. She saw very clearly that she wasn't important, and saw no reason to try to prove herself on a world where she was immediately inferior because she was born to a common family, was poor, was not Asari, and had no connections.

She didn't have any material reasons to try harder. She was and is fine with living a spartan life, and it's only been in recent years that she's indulged in some actual luxury (primarily her personal starship, and a privately built fortress). Her accounting job didn't pay much, but it paid enough for her to live and that was good enough.

What changed is that she realized that she could become somebody. Perhaps not like the elite of Ilium, but enough to make an impact in some other ways. Once she realized that she could make a difference that way, that altered her calculus, and now she had incentive to become better and improve her standing and impact among a certain group or class.

That, more than anything, is her driving motivation. She wants to be someone of influence, means, and networks because she grew up thinking those things weren't meant for people like her. Now she is the one who commands all of this and more, and that is what satisfies her, and shapes how she manages the Red Riders and why it's a notably professional and organized operation compared to others in the smuggling business.

Shun doesn't consider the morality of what she does, or the negative impact, because that was never a part of her upbringing in the societal sense. She is a person of major contrasts where she has no care for sending communities or planets into drug-addicted spirals, or supplying weapons to criminal or terrorist organizations - but will spend her profits bankrolling the education of a smuggler's child or housing of a family working under her.

She has a notably good relationship with her family, and makes sure to call her parents regularly, while also checking in on her brother who has a job on Ilium as well. None of them really know what she does, but she's made very sure to make sure they're protected on Ilium, and makes sure they're never facing financial difficulties. They think she's working some kind of high-level accounting position on Thessia, and she has not seen reason to tell the truth.

She's also in a long-term relationship with one of the men who was one of her earliest contacts in the Red Riders, which reflects her willingness to indulge in things that she saw little reason to before. While she had some romantic relationships in her collegiate years, they were never serious, and which she usually broke off. For better or worse, they seem happy with each other.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: Shun is careful to keep her ambitions pragmatic for the immediate future. She considers joining the Circle a major milestone, and is extremely wary of risking that by throwing herself into the political questions and feuds within. She wants the Riders to keep their heads down, work in the Circle, and prove themselves.

However, her true ambitions are significantly greater.

She wants to eventually take the Riders into the Greater Circles, and believes that there is a clear path to do it if they become indispensable. Shun herself is an admirer of Aria, and for that reason she's unlikely to engage in anything which would put that at risk, especially when she doesn't know everyone else involved.

While she's become aware of the Perfect Circle and its various Spheres, she's refused to engage deeply with it, despite it having some interesting ideas in her personal view. If there is any Sphere she's leaning towards, it's one that is supportive of Omegan centralization. As far as she's concerned, Aria and Omega have been the center of the Terminus, and formalizing it seems like the next logical step.

---

PLEX IRIS, CHIEF ECONOMIST

SPECIES: Volus

GENDER: Male

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Economics

BIOGRAPHY: Self-assured, confident, and with enough wealth that you can practically smell it, Plex Iris is in many ways the epitome of the stereotypical Volus. He is normal, in speech, appearance, and expectation that many have when dealing with such individuals of extreme wealth and intelligence.

It's usually enough to make people overlook that he is a Depthwalker.

Firstly, this is not as damning as it might seem. This is not a report on the Volus, but what is considered a Depthwalker is on a spectrum, one which most great Volus leaders are on to some degree, though this fact is rarely publicized due to the stigma. However, Plex Iris is high on this spectrum and works very hard to convince everyone that he is not.

Depthwalkers are not very well-known outside the Volus, and it is easy to dismiss them as merely criminal Volus, when in reality a Depthwalker is better defined as a psychological state that is distinctly atypical of the baseline Volus, as well as indicating an acute mental focus. It is as much a psychological state as it is a moniker.

Kaltoth is a Depthwalker through and through, and even those unfamiliar with Volus psychology would be able to tell that something is off. It is for this reason that she likely chose Iris to be her primary representative on the Circle of the Fallen, as he gives the perception of a competent Volus businessmen - prim, proper, and willing to share and flaunt wealth in equal measure.

He has held his place as Kaltoth's voice on the Circle for nearly a decade, and has brought significant improvements to the Circle of Economics, which in turn has benefitted the Circle as a whole. His teams have been able to turn unprofitable money sinks into successes and thriving programs. Under him the Circle has never missed a paycheck, or fallen on hard financial times.

Make no mistake, Iris is a financial genius with a particular talent for the multi-level management of multiple criminal organizations and the nuances that comprise them. It isn't just him, but it's because of his continued push to achieve profit and organizational stability that the Circle has continued to grow at the rate that it has.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: With all of the effort to present himself as normal, it is a natural question to ask why Iris goes to such lengths when it is likely no one would particularly mind, especially with the company he keeps. The answer comes down to two reasons.

The first is that Iris does not intend to show his true face and personality to anyone outside of the Profane Gate. He treats his outward personality much like a garment or the suit that he wears – something one employs for a practical purpose, but it isn't real – at least not all of it. This is not uncommon among Volus in criminal organizations, and he's correctly identified that the Circle values competency and professionalism and he is perfectly capable of providing that.

The second is particularly interesting, and that is that Iris does not actually care about the accumulation of material wealth and profit. Or rather, it is not his priority. He appears to be embarrassed about this specific personality quirk, as he would never admit that his driving motivation is not wealth, but stability.

Wealth, currency, and money exist to be a means to an end. The policies he proposes have not been based on the ultimate accumulation of wealth, but ensuring that the Circle remains stable, retains personnel, and has the resources to grow at a reasonable pace. It is an inherently alien Volus mindset, in the sense that Iris has willingly left full percentages of growth and profit on the table for little rational reason (to a Volus).

However, Iris truly considers stability more important than wealth, especially as it relates to the larger political objectives of Kaltoth and the Profane Gate – another reason he was likely selected for this role. No one else has picked up on this because as far as the rest of the Circle is concerned, they are making far more profit and their people are much more content than ever before.

That is the perception Iris intends to maintain, and has no intention of putting it all at risk just to make the numbers go higher.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: Plex Iris' intentions are those of Kaltoth, which is making the Circle of Economics indispensable to the Circle of the Fallen, and integrating itself into every level, entity, and figure of note – something that is arguably already achieved.

When it comes to internal politics, Iris has maintained a deliberately neutral stance, instead letting all related politics be handled by Kaltoth, whom he would never speak on behalf of without permission.

It is much more reasonable to look to Kaltoth for an idea of where this Circle will lean – but as far as it relates to the Perfect Circle, it seems like no matter the outcome, it will need to be with the blessing of the Circle of Economics, as if there is one shatterpoint in this organization, it may be this one.

---

CERAS ORO, FIRST LEGIONARY

SPECIES: Salarian

GENDER: Male

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Recruitment and Digital Operations

BIOGRAPHY: There is a lot to cover.

If there were any who reviewed the overall description of the Circle of Recruitment and Digital Operations and thought that there was something strange about the 'League of Six' you would not be wrong. Ceras Oro, like many in the League, is a figure with a very obscured and contradictory background, but for one detail.

He doesn't appear to actually exist.

There is a lot of debate within intelligence circles on if the League of Six is an STG cutout like half of existing 'renegade' salarian info broker or cyber criminal groups are, or if they're one of the few legitimate renegades. CINT, the AIS, and the Discerning believe that they are STG, while the SPECTREs and Unseen Cloud believe they are not.

The most telling indicator of the truth is how the STG defines them, and they internally consider the League of Six an 'Organization which sometimes responds to limited-scope tasking.' There is only one kind of organization that the STG uses those qualifiers for, and those are the interfaces used by the League of Zero, the rogue salarian-based AIs.

There is significant evidence that the League of Six is in fact a proxy of the League of Zero, with the only question being how deeply the League of Six is compromised. There are degrees of Zero proxies, from outright puppets directly managed by the AIs themselves, to cutouts where they have thralls which report on their actions or sometimes utilize them.

Given that Ceras Oro has no past that we can tell, it seems that the League of Zero considers this one of the interfaces that they actively monitor. Many in the League of Six can be traced back somewhere, even if there are attempts at obfuscation – and even clear obfuscation gives some proof that they did exist, be it in the Salarian government, STG, or even dissident salarian movements.

Ceras claims that he's a former operative within the STG whose reason for departure he never gives, but the STG confirms that this is not the case, and they believe that he is almost certainly a direct puppet of one of the League who is charged with observing and shaping the Circle of the Fallen.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: It is currently impossible to determine if Ceras Oro, such as he is, actually exists or if he is a true puppet of one of the League. However, we can attempt to discern some facts about how he is operating even if there are some facts we are not able to determine one way or another.

The first is that Ceras is passive, almost suspiciously so, if one knows what to look for. I don't mean that he is passive in the sense of being invisible, but that he is very deliberate in when he raises concerns, speaks out of turn, or otherwise brings attention to himself. It's just enough to make it clear he's participating, while also being capable of avoiding any politics or drama.

Ceras and his Circle are notably always absent or neutral whenever there are disputes between Circles or their members. They always say what they are expected to say, not much more or less, which one can point to them being savvy when it comes to relationships, but I would argue points to the League of Zero not wanting unnecessary attention being drawn to them.

If the League's real intentions are to merely observe, it tracks that this is why the Circle seems content to remain in its position, and potentially believe that promotion to a Greater Circle would bring down scrutiny that would expose them. This seems to be driving Ceras' actions to keep his Circle neutral and focused, as well as his apathy towards any internal political movements.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: There is an overarching question of why the League of Zero sought to infiltrate the Circle of the Fallen to this degree, and if they'll switch from observation to active tampering. There is also a reasonable concern that the League has been subverting entire swathes of the Circles through their nanotech.

This is unlikely for several reasons.

The first is that it is not within the standard operating procedures of the League. Observation operations such as these that carry high risk of exposure have historically driven the League to be cautious about how and whom it attempts to subvert. Considering the Circle has many paranoid members, not to mention competent ones, the risks are far too high for the League to risk it – especially when they gain most of what they need to know from just being a member.

The second is that the League is not a monolith, and each of the AIs has a different interpretation of their understanding of their mission, and how to execute it. The one who is managing, or acting through Ceras, does not appear to be one reliant on passive infestation, but rather active interaction through a few specialized organic interfaces.

Finally, it does not appear that the League considers the Circle an enemy by their definitions. If the League saw the Circle in such a light, there would be more direct action taken against it, or more tangible efforts to undermine or subvert Circle institutions, likely through the Perfect Circle. This has not happened, and does not appear positioned to change.

Thus, the plan for the League, and by extension Ceras, is almost certainly to retain their position and not rock the boat. That is the position with the most evidence, but there is another reason highlighted for why the League is interested in the Circle – DELTA Operations.

The League almost certainly does not have access to any of the organizations that handle anomalous operations, and is likely something they consider a field they are deficient in, or are uncertain how to handle. In the event that the League encounters an anomalous activity, it benefits them to have access to an organization or mechanism to handle it for them, which they could theoretically learn from.

We are unaware of any direct or indirect communication between the League, its cutouts, and DELTA Operations, nor any instances where their respective Circle has highlighted such events or concerns – but that does not mean the League does not consider it a contingency.

It is a perspective and possibility worth keeping in mind.

---

CIRCLE COMMANDER STANISLAV VOLODYMYROVYCH

SPECIES: Human

GENDER: Male

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Outreach

BIOGRAPHY: A fun fact that I discovered over the course of this investigation is that there are a lot of people who have no idea how to properly pronounce Volodymyrovych, which includes most Humans. I am unsure that I've ever seen a name that, regardless of species, has caused this much trouble for people to pronounce.

That is an impressive feat for the languages of Humanity, for better or worse. As a result, most people address him by his first name, or Circle Commander clarity. Supposedly, his name is easier to pronounce in his native Ukrainian, but this cannot be verified.

Stanislav Volodymyrovych is notable as much for his connections, as the family he came from. It is likely not surprising to learn that he comes from the Human nobility, specifically from House Volodymyrovych, a Ukrainian family who was a House of the Second Rank, who came to prominence as one of the earliest supporters of Victor Manswell during the days of Iron.

Most Human noble houses tend to have some lineage they claim, and House Volodymyrovych is no different. They claim to be descendants of the Cossack Hetmanate, a monarchal equivalent which once ruled the Ukrainian region to provide an extremely brief summary (the reality is not as clear, but for the sake of simplification it is sufficient).

This is, to put it bluntly, almost certainly fabricated, and they only claimed this for propaganda to make it easier to be legitimized as Manswell reshaped Earth in and following the days of Iron. The reason for their prominence was that the Volodymyrovych family controlled nearly three quarters of Ukraine's agricultural industry in one form or another.

Ukraine was known as the Breadbasket of Europe due to its sheer number of food exports, and much of this farmland escaped the worst of the Days of Iron, which made the Volodymyrovych extremely influential and important in the aftermath of the Days of Iron, which ultimately vaulted them to a place of prominence in the new Systems Alliance.

House Volodymyrovych and the respective Hetman spent the following years continuing to produce food for the Alliance, and branch out into developing agricultural colonies. When it came to food production, farming, and agriculture, they held significant influence and authority. Their fortunes experienced a number of downturns, beginning with the First Contact War.

One of the worlds that House Volodymyrovych had heavily invested in was almost completely destroyed by the Turians, a good number of their sons who had volunteered to serve were killed in the fighting, and to make matters worse they'd tended to not engage in the House politics, arranged marriages, and internal Alliances that other Second Rank Houses did. The Volodymyrovych's are a proud family, who pride themselves on self-sufficiency, ultimately to their detriment.

All of this heavily damaged the standing of House Volodymyrovych, and set the stage for them to be slowly subverted and sabotaged by other ambitious Houses, and those who wanted to see House Volodymyrovych displaced. This is the backdrop that Stanislav grew up under, and his desire to restore his family to their previous prominence ultimately brought it down.

From a young age, Stanislav was always fascinated by the galaxy and took every opportunity to visit worlds beyond the Alliance. Before twenty he'd visited every major Citadel world, toured dozens more, and House Volodymyrovych had made inroads with certain asari and turian families to supply them with foodstuffs and farming equipment.

He also made efforts to mend relations with other Houses, or at least smooth things over and make it clear his House had no desire to engage in politics or interfere with the spheres of influence within the High Lords. He was very willing and eager to help prove House Volodymyrovych's good intentions to the Alliance.

He personally helped multiple colonies be established with food initially at discounted prices for the first few years, and even opened the door for competition by giving their unofficial blessing to House Bauer, a small Third Rank family, who also produced foodstuffs and farming equipment for colonies.

There was a rumor that Houses Volodymyrovych and Bauer were rivals, but this does not seem to be true because the Houses really didn't interact much at all, though after Volodymyrovych's downfall, they were effectively displaced by House Bauer as the primary colonial supplier of food and some basic farming equipment, which had previously been dominated by House Volodymyrovych.

There are pervasive rumors that House Volodymyrovych was pressured into allowing Bauer to gain a foothold in the agricultural market by the High Lords, and there is some evidence that Lords had indicated for Volodymyrovych to not interfere, but everything indicates that Stanislav didn't see an issue because he didn't view House Bauer as a legitimate threat, and that their place in the Alliance was secure.

All of this should indicate that the heir-apparent to the position of Hetman was set to bring House Volodymyrovych back to prominence, and it's entirely possible he would have, had he not made a series of mistakes that led to his downfall, and that of House Volodymyrovych. Officially, Stanislav Volodymyrovych was exiled due to conspiracy to commit treason and is currently wanted to stand trial by order of the High Lords of Sol.

The real story is a fairly typical Human nobility power play.

Stanislav's ventures into Citadel space weren't for his own pleasure – he saw agreements with foreign governments as critical to restoring House Volodymyrovych's prominence, and wanted to carve out his niche not just as a supplier for colonies, but also help develop colonies by the asari, turians, salarians, and everywhere he could in the belief that it would entrench Humanity into alien economic ecosystems.

He had good reason to think he could negotiate this – while such a thing for Third Rank Houses would be questionable, it wasn't uncommon for Second Rank Houses to make direct deals with aliens as it related to products. No one would think of speaking for the Alliance politically, but selling raw goods was perfectly acceptable, be it to colonies, governments, or corporations. Such is the way of the free market.

Stanislav had even more reason to not consider this approach wrong because House Bauer was in the early stages of trading with the Migrant Fleet (It is important to note that they went through all official channels for this, and followed processes that Stanislav likely dismissed), so there was even a precedent at work and if the High Lords weren't going to stop a Third Rank, they definitely shouldn't interfere with a Second Rank.

That was a very bad assumption.

There was a prevalent view among the High Lords that House Volodymyrovych, despite its reduced state, held disproportionate influence due to their domination of agriculture and food production. Such a critical resource, it was believed, should be more directly under the influence of the High Lords to control and appropriate as they saw fit.

So when word of the deals Stanislav was preparing to make with alien governments which would almost certainly make his position difficult to dislodge if they succeeded, the High Lords, spearheaded by Houses Chu, al-Saud, Maxima and Ngubane – but it was tacitly supported by all of the High Lords.

News of the deals were leaked and framed in the context of selling state secrets or reaching agreement without "formal approval of the Systems Alliance," which triggered investigations and emergency sessions, which ultimately saw Stanislav stripped of his position and titles, an arrest warrant put out, House Volodymyrovych reduced to the Third Rank, and much of their agricultural empire broken up and divvied among the other High Lords, primarily Ngubane who is subsequently responsible for much agricultural production and equipment today.

It was a shocking event which dominated the news for quite a while, but was clearly seen as a message from the High Lords that they were more than content to take action if they saw risks to their predominant positions. Everyone knew it was unjust and baseless, but there was little that could be done about it.

The message was heard loud and clear though, especially for House Bauer, who has never once entertained the idea of dealing with any alien species except the Quarians, and otherwise kept their heads down and supplied only Alliance and wildcat worlds. House Volodymyrovych still stands, but these days they are primarily confined to Ukraine, without hope or heir.

Stanislav, as one might guess, was very displeased with this turn of events, and shifted his entire plans as a result. He is an extremely educated man possessing many talents, holds multiple degrees in economics, transportation, and politics, and cultivated numerous connections in and outside the Alliance, and possessed enough personal wealth he'd accrued as a contingency.

If there was one good piece of news for House Volodymyrovych, it was that the move didn't necessarily have the effect the High Lords hoped it would have. Many of the Second Rank Houses were particularly incised by the very clear power play, and while they didn't fight to restore House Volodymyrovych's position, made it clear the move was intolerable for them, and several took measures to make sure no further action was taken against House Volodymyrovych.

Making the situation more awkward was that many of the people whom Stanislav had cultivated ties with among the High Lords and Alliance institutions tried to frame it to him as an 'impersonal' decision, while trying to say that it was mostly political, and that if he formally returned, the charges would be reduced. Stanislav, wisely, didn't believe them and it was nearly a decade before he stepped foot on Earth again.

The High Lords had also badly underestimated Stanislav's understanding of how politics worked in the Alliance. He understood them, he just didn't seek to actively participate in, or exploit them. That had now changed. Stanislav knew the underground of the Alliance elite, the open secret where Houses, corporations, and even Alliance officials engaged in transactions and trades off the record.

This knowledge eventually inspired the creation of the Iron Curtain, which facilitates the unofficial connections between the Alliance and various interests in the Terminus. In a way, things did ultimately work out for Stanislav personally, and he can act openly without worrying about the reputation of House Volodymyrovych.

He spent nearly a decade building up networks and connections within the Terminus, from Omega to even the Terminus Clan, while keeping contact with friends in the Alliance at all levels, all of whom knew he was working towards something important. When the Iron Curtain was launched, it is no secret that there were many in the Alliance – ironically High Lords included – who were wanting to take part in this market that seemed tailored just for them.

It's not exactly a secret that Stanislav is behind it, even if the official leader of the Iron Curtain is only known by a false name. However, even the High Lords assessed that what Stanislav offered through the Iron Curtain was too useful to ignore, especially if it gave them an inroad into the Terminus, and Volodymyrovych – against all odds - seemed to be nominally still supportive of Alliance interests – or at least opposed to alien ones.

Even if some High Lords disagreed, as well as the Commissariat, it has been the quiet support of House Chu, the tacit approval of House Manswell, and institutional support among the AIS and military that has kept any decisive action from being taken against him. If Stanislav ever becomes perceived as hostile to Alliance interests, this could very easily – and very quickly – change.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: Unfortunately for the Alliance, Stanislav has absolutely no remaining loyalty to the Alliance, nor its interests, even if he is willing to facilitate them. This is not surprising to anyone with a functioning brain, which is not as common among the High Lords as might be expected.

While Stanislav is perfectly fine with facilitating Alliance interests, he's been equally willing to facilitate salarian, asari, and Citadel interests, even if the Alliance-Terminus market is his most developed due to his connections still in the Alliance.

He has not forgotten, nor forgiven what was done to him, or his family, and fully intends to exact some kind of justice or retribution – one day, at least. He is much more aware and intelligent when it comes to internal Alliance politics than most people know, and actively uses that to exploit tensions, plant rumors, and unofficially engage in the palace politics that only occur within the ranks of the Lords of Sol.

The Houses see in Stanislav a useful tool or institution they can exploit in their efforts to expand their influence or undermine rivals. They believe he can be influenced and pressured, and more than once have dangled the possibility of the restoration of House Volodymyrovych, or hurting rival houses like Bauer in exchange for information, goods, services, or connections. Stanislav has yet to actually accept any of these offers.

Stanislav is extremely careful where and when he uses his influence, and when he does, it is with certain degrees of deniability. While all of this happens, he's also selling information he's acquired to the Citadel, the STG, and the Shadow Broker through intermediaries and assets.

No one single organization fully knows how far or deep Stanislav's connections go, but he appears to be building all of this for specific reasons in what is likely a very elaborate revenge scheme, whose execution seems unclear. His only true connection remaining to the Alliance that is genuine is his House, which he works to help fund and support whenever possible, as well as occasionally make visits to his aging father, and underprepared and isolated younger brother who is set to soon become Hetman.

Outside of his family, Stanislav has no desire to return to the Alliance, or see it succeed. He doesn't hold high opinions of most Citadel governments, but the Alliance in particular he despises, which has driven him to legitimize alternatives to the so-called 'civilized' galaxy - primarily through the Circle of the Fallen.

He is very supportive of a legitimate form of government within the Terminus that is free of overt criminality, but sees such imperfect forms as necessary for a transitional period. He has a notably high opinion of the Terminus Clan, though views their systems as too punitive and militant for his liking. He nonetheless considers them a fair people whom he maintains good relationships with.

His other concern is his immediate family. When he fled the Alliance initially, the woman he was engaged with went with him. They have since become married, and have been raising a son. Stanislav is paranoid about his family, and their location is secret enough that we couldn't fully pinpoint it.

He doubtless believes – correctly – that his wife and son are effective pieces of leverage on him, and has no intention of putting them at risk under any circumstances.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: This question has a few different answers.

The first is the intentions for Stanislav and the Circle of the Fallen. Right now he wants to legitimize the Circle of the Fallen as, if not a governing entity, one with equivalent influence. This has been accompanied by his work in establishing embassies across the Terminus, and solidifying relationships and backchannels with Citadel entities (Human and otherwise).

That is his first priority, which is the exterior goal. Internally, he also wants to start orienting the Circle towards true legitimization and has been very clear in the support for the Perfect Circle as a movement, if not a particular Sphere of Thought. Unless the Circle is similarly united on acting as a legitimate entity, he sees all future endeavors as pointless.

There are some in the Circle, and the Network, who have identified Stanislav as a potential leader of the Circle if certain things play out in a way that sees Aria and Venethix deposed or unwilling to assume control of the organization - but this is unlikely. Stanislav does not want a position of such prominence, and is much more comfortable working behind the scenes and keeping things smooth in the background.

However, he would almost certainly be a very influential figure even if he does not directly take a leadership role. He has a very clear idea of what he wants in a system of governance, and is not unafraid to gather support for, or otherwise act to see it fulfilled. That is his intentions for the Circle.

For Stanislav personally? Well, this relates to his desire to see the collapse of the Alliance, or at least the High Lords who tried to ruin himself and his family. He is balancing a dozen different powerful and tenuous relationships and alliances within the Lords and outside agencies. This has created a web of connections, networks, and relationships that is esoteric and so complex that even our analysts are unsure what this could all possibly be leading to.

It is possible that much of this is a deception in and of itself, and Stanislav has no real endgame, and no grand plan to ruin or humiliate the High Lords - but there are too many indicators to think that there is nothing at work. It is clear that Stanislav is willing to play very complex and dangerous games with powerful people.

If CINT, the STG, and Shadow Broker don't deter him, I somehow am skeptical that he'd draw the line at roping in powerful men and women of the High Lords into his schemes – especially if they were the ones responsible for his downfall. Stanislav plays a very dangerous game with many powerful people, but it would be prudent to not underestimate what he is capable of.

---

CIRCLE COMMANDER POL VAATHAAR

SPECIES: Asari

GENDER: Asari

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Internal Affairs

BIOGRAPHY: Pol Vaathaar is different from most members of the Circle of the Fallen in a number of ways. She does not come from a criminal background, she does not run a mercenary or criminal organization, and perhaps most interestingly, is perhaps the only individual leading a Circle who can be argued has a strong sense of morality – from a certain point of view.

Vaathaar comes from a minor clan from Thessia, which had a rather proud history of military service. Following in their footsteps, Vaathaar joined the military and subsequently the ranks of the Asari Commandos where she distinguished herself as an officer.

The Vaathaar Clan is also one of the few clans to remain primarily Athamists instead of wholeheartedly embracing Siari. From a young age Vaathaar was strongly defined by her adherence to the tenets of Athame, no matter how reduced the religion is in numbers or influence.

This did not result in as much internal discrimination or intolerance as you might think, as after all the Church of Athame is still a centerpiece of Thessia and Asari culture – it just lacks many true believers. However, for those who are devout, they are often deep, almost fanatical adherents. Vaathaar was not quite a fanatic, but she possessed an extremely strong moral compass that ultimately came into conflict in a rather decisive way.

While on duty on a remote Asari colony bordering the Terminus, there was a visit from a Justicar who was purportedly searching for a rumored ardat-yakshi. This investigation led to a young maiden who had been living there for several decades with her family as the primary suspect. Upon locating her, the Justicar began taking her and the family sheltering her away to be executed.

This was not something that Vaathaar was willing to permit. I am unsure if she would have intervened if it had been the maiden who was dealt with, but Justicars are harsh towards any they feel are harboring the ardat-yakshi. Nonetheless, Vaathaar was not going to sign-off on their murder, despite also being threatened with execution.

After the ultimatum was delivered, Vaathaar appeared to submit, stood down, and ordered her soldiers to disperse. Soldiers afterwards remember hearing a few shots which they did not pay mind to because they assumed the execution had taken place. Only when several hours passed and neither the Justicar or Vaathaar has been seen, they returned to investigate.

They found the Justicar dead, and Vaathaar and the family gone. Almost no one wanted to believe a Commando had taken up arms against a Justicar, as such a thing is unheard of among the Asari, especially in the military.

Justicars are more controversial than most believe, even among the Asari, but are viewed as a necessary evil. Actively interfering with Justicar justice as it were is an unthinkable prospect. Vaathaar actually not only interfered, but killed a Justicar rather than let her carry out her duties. As everyone suspected, Vaathaar quickly fled, taking the maiden and her family with her, and is wanted by the Republics to this day.

So, a natural question is where a former Commando goes within the Terminus, or what they do. For the first few decades, Vaathaar spent her time on a small independent world initially working as a hired peacekeeper, though soon was leading their planetary defense and what passed for their diplomatic corps.

Her relationship with the accused ardat-yakshi is murky due to her sustained efforts at obfuscation. We were unable to locate the woman, the family, but know they are under Vaathaar's protection, using false names, and move on a regular basis. These measures began almost as soon as she settled on this world.

She became regarded very highly among the locals, and together with a few like-minded colleagues who'd come to work with her, made the choice to branch out and make peacekeeping their primary offering. Crest and Shield was formed with the very specific aim of reducing the violence in the Terminus, and bringing people to the table, instead of engaging in war.

A Commando she might have been, but she quickly became experienced in the art of negotiation and diplomacy. Given that few such organizations exist in the Terminus, she gained no small number of people interested in both the mission and the skillset, and soon they became known among their region of space as successfully maintaining peace between states, warlords, and roaming mercenary interests.

Vaathaar does not appear to have planned to ever hold as much influence as she does, especially within the Circle of the Fallen, nor is she certain how best to employ it, if at all. However, the ultimate reason she agreed at all was because it remains true to her mission – which is to stabilize the Terminus as much as possible.

Making sure the various factions and parties don't kill each other is one very impactful way of achieving that goal.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: Vaathaar is very, very good at hiding how she feels from others. She is arguably one of the best actors and negotiators I've reviewed solely due to her exceptional self-control – and without cybernetics.

Working with the Circle of the Fallen makes her far more conflicted than she lets on, even to her closest colleagues.

Vaathaar is fundamentally a person whose moral code skews to the point where she'd be much happier killing most of the people she works with on a regular basis. If she was willing to kill a Justicar because of her attempt to murder an innocent family, one can imagine the conflict she feels by effectively enabling people much worse than the Justicars on a regular basis.

She had to be talked into entertaining the idea in the first place, and there was a lot of lobbying by certain members of the Circle, particularly from the Shifter, Aria, and Venethix's side to convince her that the best way to achieve her mission was to ensure stability on a region-wide scale.

It worked, but it cannot be said that Vaathaar believes what she is doing is ultimately right, even if she concedes it is justifiable. The question of morality aside, her position in the Circle has certainly been useful in expanding her own organization, which employs and is involved across the Terminus.

It has resulted in a genuinely positive impact, which she takes comfort in, but it isn't quite enough to assuage the discomfort of helping perpetuate what she sees as an unjust status quo – even if she knows the alternatives are worse.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: Vaathaar seems to be reaching some kind of personal crossroads which no one is really sure where this leads. There is going to come a point – most believe – where she is going to be unable to justify her participation in the Circle of the Fallen, and leave.

Whether this includes removing herself as Circle Commander or pulling Crest and Shield out of the Circle altogether is unknown, but several Circles are bracing it, and drafting contingencies for the fallout. The Circle of Internal Affairs has only grown more important as the years have gone by, and without them, the schisms and internal violence would have been significantly worse.

That is a period of time no one wants to go back to.

However, something that has thrown a wrench into all of this is the growth of the Perfect Circle, and the idea of a transition to a proper state, one that is not overtly criminal in nature.

It isn't a secret that most of the Circle of Internal Affairs are sympathetic to, if not outright supporters of the movement as a whole - specifically the Spheres that makes the Circle a central Terminus power. Vaathaar's own views are mostly speculative, but she has indicated that this is a scenario where she would remain in her role, as she sees it as a good opportunity for the Circle to evolve into something better.

Eiron can probably be personally thanked for swaying her on this matter, as he was the one who appeared to have introduced her to the Perfect Circle concepts, and helped assuage her internal conflicts she has with working for the Circle.

As a result Vaathaar considers Eiron someone largely aligned to her, and if Eiron were to make a move somehow, it seems likely that he would have the support of Vaathaar – and subsequently the Circle of the Internal Affairs.

---

CIRCLE COMMANDER MIRA ZOR

SPECIES: Volus

GENDER: Female

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Logistics

BIOGRAPHY: This is a very strange one, even by Volus standards.

Mira Zor's background is not even remotely what anyone reading this report would expect, and is atypical in nearly all comparisons to Volus who engage in criminal enterprises. Mira Zor is on the Depthwalker spectrum, but this one we know is very low, primarily in the 'Clear' category (which is 0-4).

Second, she comes from a career in the Volus Defense Force.

By all accounts she was a competent logistics officer in the VDF, though not necessarily exceptional. However, as we are mostly aware of, what is merely competent for Volus when it comes to logistics and economics is often leagues and bounds above other species and organizations.

Aria's logistics were relatively good for an organization as large as hers, but she'd not really employed volus in any serious capacity or for very long because she was suspicious of them being spies or Unseen Cloud plants. When Zor came to Aria, she was perhaps the most suspicious that she could be.

Zor is not like most Volus or other professionals. She possesses an almost bubbly personality, and a child-like eagerness and has been known to squeal upon seeing a buttery-smooth logistics network in motion or quarterly returns that show exceptional growth. It's almost endearing to watch, almost easy to forget that the girl knows what she's doing.

Supposedly she wanted to work with Aria for the challenge, considering her work in the VDF to be too easy and boring. Naturally, what better challenge is there than doing work for the Pirate Queen herself? Aria was certainly skeptical, but was willing to give her a chance and see what she could do. Fast forward several years, and she finds herself doing work for the Circle of Logistics as Aria's direct appointee.

Few can argue that the Circle of Logistics has become much more efficient and useful than ever before, and with it has come the emergence of Zor's own ambitions, ones she has begun to begin voicing, as she believes she has proven herself enough to make a larger impact.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: Zor is primarily driven by feedback and challenge. There is nothing that motivates her more than inheriting an absolute disaster – and then being the one to fix it. She may not be the smartest Volus to live, or particularly inventive or unconventional – but she has a drive and ability to endure disaster after disaster but won't give up until almost everything is lost.

That, more than anything, this is probably what impressed Aria the most. Volus often will have a tendency to look at failing ventures and ruthlessly cut them down or pull out before more assets are risked and lost. Zor on the other hand is willing to take massive risks, and endure significant losses before conceding defeat.

Note that this doesn't mean that she throws resources into stuff that's clearly failing – It means that she isn't going to pull the plug on something that didn't exactly work out, but wasn't a total failure. She'll make adjustments, alterations, and try it a few more times before deciding to pull out or otherwise.

This desire for challenge is something of a double-edged sword, as once she succeeds at something, she'll tend to become apathetic and bored towards it, and will rather move on than stay in a role that is not stimulating. Aria placing her in this role was a rather inspired choice, because Zor has not only been given a major challenge, but has morphed it into her mission being creating a foundation for a new Terminus State – with Omega as its center.

Zor has been taken by the Perfect Circle movement and considers it an excellent idea in theory, and has such begun applying her own alterations, and is personally responsible developing the Omegan Supremacy Sphere, which revolves around formalizing Aria and Omega's control of the Terminus. This is unlikely to have been Aria's original plan for her – but Zor seems certain that she can sell Aria on taking this step, and is preparing for that moment.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: In addition to her current duties managing the Circle of Logistics – of which there are never any shortage of challenges and duties, she has been working to refine and spread her Sphere of the Perfect Circle. She considers any Perfect Circle movement that does not include Aria or Omega as one that is doomed to failure, which is an unacceptable risk.

Thus, she considers it important to mitigate the opposing voices advocating a break from Omega, though unlike economics and logistics, she is not a politician, and not necessarily effective at public relations or spreading an ideology. She's found some allies among those who prefer to stick with a status quo, ironically missing the point that Zor does not want a status quo, but to, in her view, fix the systems that plague the Terminus.

An empowered state-like Circle of the Fallen is a far better vessel to carry this out in, and if Zor has her way, she would have a hand in forming a system that could rival that of the Citadel. And is there anything greater that she could make her mark on? It seems very unlikely, but time will tell if Aria agrees – and if this will ever be accepted at all by the rest of the Circle.

---

PROFESSOR AMERIAN C'HANNA

SPECIES: Asari

GENDER: Asari

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Political Strategy

BIOGRAPHY: With few exceptions, if one sees an older Asari in the criminal profession, they should understand that they are dealing with someone exceptionally old, exceptionally dangerous, and exceptionally unusual.

The criminal ranks are filled with maidens looking for excitement and adventure, but among most asari this is a semi-expected 'phase' for those discontent with the more idyllic life of the Clans and Republican space. They roam around with a mercenary or criminal group for a few decades, find it's not for them, grow bored, and leave.

It is a small and irregular group of these asari who make the conscious choice to remain in the criminal lifestyle. Some do it because of love for work, some because they are outcasts, some because they have business interests, others because they perceive no choice. Every Asari criminal or warlord has a very different motivation and drive.

What each of them have in common? They are dangerous, and each of them are damaged or disturbed in some way compared to the standard Asari psyche. None of them are normal by any reasonable definition, and there is a tendency to downplay this fact.

Amerian C'Hanna is currently a professor of Organization and Administration in the Institute of Iz III, and also current Circle Commander for Political Strategy. A benign title which hides the fact that this was one of the most effective and brutal warlords in the Terminus for over two centuries.

Asari warlords tend to differ from most conventional Terminus warlords in that they exercise their power and maintain control less through force, but more through psychological, sociological, and economic factors and pressures. Asari warlords prefer not to style themselves as warlords, but play into the benevolent, motherly stereotypes. They will use force at times, but it's framed as a last resort, even if it's mostly propaganda.

Amerian did not do this.

Some important contextual information concerning Amerian was that she was removed from the Nightwind Program due to her 'excessively harsh treatment' of Nightwind operatives and associated captives. I will repeat - Removed from the Nightwind Program for excessive harshness.

I would hope that anyone considered too extreme for the Nightwind raises a few eyebrows, as the saying goes.

We unfortunately weren't able to learn exactly what Amerian did to actually earn this expulsion, but her later rule allows for some possible examples. She was not a War Priestess, but she was a fully-trained asari Commando, and over centuries has learned a number of War Priestess skills and kept her biotic implants fully up to date.

Following her expulsion from the Nightwind, she took a number of soldiers and other Asari who wanted to follow her, and seized the world of New Koris, a formerly Turian colony that was a well-established trading world in the Terminus with several million occupants. Amerian initially positioned herself as someone merely looking to settle down, but it wasn't long before she seduced one of the leading officials of the world, and began bending it to her will.

Most aliens already struggle to anticipate or grasp the centuries-long plans of the Thirty, there was no chance that New Koris had a chance, and within a generation – a very long time for most species – the world looked much, much different. The government had become brutally repressive, large parts of the state had been hollowed out and replaced by loyalists.

New Koris wasn't ever a true democratic state, but it was one which held elections, even if a disproportionate amount of power resided in the executive positions and military. Amerian turned the trade world into something that was…worse. It became a place not for civilians, but killers, sadists, and monsters.

Within several generations, New Koris was known as one of the worst worlds of the Terminus. Amerian assumed formal control of the world, which wasn't difficult when she'd used her bond to effectively slave every major official to her will, all of whom pledged loyalty during the transition and since served her loyally.

The military of the world was no longer one that existed to protect it, but which sought to inflict terror across the region. Many of the principles employed in the Nightwind Program were carried over, as Amerian created her own pseudo-Nightwind, or her army of killers. Citizens of the world were punished not with imprisonment, but being sent to the Killing Fields where they are used as practice by Koris Death Squads.

Within a century the export of New Koris was violence, which she loaned out to any who sought the services of remorseless and violent killers. This was no mercenary army, but a group of animals on loan from their master. This was the reputation of New Koris, one which spread far, and on the cusp of Matriarchy, Amerian stepped down and transferred authority to a subordinate she'd been grooming to take her place, and joined the Institute of Iz III where she was welcomed with open arms.

While it is typical for the Circle Commander of the Circle of Political Strategy to be rotated and changed on a more regular basis, the fact that Amerian has been given this role is quite telling and alarming. Having someone like her in the Circle is a point of some concern among multiple members – especially considering what really drives her.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: A reasonable question that might be asked right now is what Amerian did all of this for. Usually, this is not something that anyone normal would even consider thinking of doing. Something critical to understand is that Amerian did not want to leave the Asari – she was forced out.

Why? Because she ultimately did not see the measures as sufficient or not. While her treatment of the Nightwind was poor, there is quite a bit of evidence to suggest that she felt that the Republics were holding back in how they deployed the Nightwind. She did not see their use as particularly efficient or appropriate – she wanted to use the Nightwind as a broader tool to expand Asari interests, not just for retaliation or terrorism.

So when she was expelled, her response was to recreate an unshackled Nightwind, one led by someone who was 'capable' of making the necessary decisions. In her very warped perspective, she is doing all of this to entrench Asari interests in the Terminus, though this doesn't necessarily mean the Thirty.

Be it Aria or Thana, she is ultimately interested in making sure there is Asari dominance over alien life she views as inherently inferior. She considers herself the unofficial agent of Thessia, believing she has supporters and allies in the Thirty, who agree with her measures if they won't say so aloud. There is no evidence that the Thirty are even aware of her, let alone support her.

While she loaned out the Koris Death Squads to those who would pay, she regularly deployed them against entities she considered interfering in Asari interests, be they simply colonies or competing criminal enterprises. There was a point where Aria had to step in and threaten to cut her off if she kept causing terrorism in the Terminus, and there are rumors that it was Aria who forced her into retirement, and it wasn't of her own volition.

Amerian has extremely little regard for the views and desires of aliens, which makes her place on the Circle one that is strange and caused a not-insignificant amount of confusion. While she is a bloodthirsty sadist, she is very good at manipulating and managing organizations, and she specifically asked for the opportunity – despite her views being clearly known.

She is viewed with wariness by most in the Circle of the Fallen, and even within the Circle of Political Strategy they aren't clear what her endgame is. She has managed the Circle well enough, but whenever she enters a room, there is a tangible tension, as if they're waiting for her to drop the mask for good.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: Amerian's personal intentions can be placed in the framework of her Asari-supremacist mindset. She wants the Asari to dominate the Circle, just as much as every other institution. She almost certainly views her time in this role not as one to necessarily execute the interests of her particular circle, but how best to subvert it for the domination of other asari.

She is completely blind to the idea that her view is so fringe as to be virtually alien to everyone who even might be in favor of it. She does not believe or view the Circle as anything more than another avenue for Asari domination, and her low view of other species further blinds her to the impossibility of this.

For the good of the Circle it's perhaps fortunate that the Circle Commander of Political Strategy is one who is more administrative, and does not hold so much power as much as serve as a figurehead. Amerian has been frustrated by how little progress she seems to have made, and the unwillingness of Asari members to implement what she has suggested.

She is actually a proponent of the Perfect Circle, particularly the Omegan Sphere one, because that would keep Aria in power. She also does not seem to grasp that nearly everyone sees her as a violent lunatic they are indulging out of self-preservation, rather than listening to.

Despite in her mind being theoretically on her side, Aria has gone out of her way to ignore her and Vaathaar would prefer to kill her than listen to her. She is viewed as a time bomb by many members, and one that all of the Circle will be breathing a sigh of relief when she is gone.

---

EIRE'MOLLS JAS HIVE

SPECIES: Quarian

GENDER: Female

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Innovation

BIOGRAPHY: There is a sense of inevitability when it comes to Eire'Molls jas HIVE. There are some first impressions where you can immediately gain a complete sense of who they are, and where they are likely to end up.

I am certain that if Eire hadn't found her way to Golo, she would have ended up in some secluded lab on Noveria cloning Rachni, in the Reach Research Compound engineering some new Salarian plague, or otherwise in a place where any sense of ethics, morality, or restraint does not exist.

Eire had, as far as we can tell, a normal childhood in the Migrant Fleet, or as normal as a Quarian can have. She was not born to any important family, and was a quiet child who did her tasks, learned her lessons, and set out on a pilgrimage she never returned from. She is currently presumed dead in the Fleet; a casualty of the journey.

She was never exiled, she never had a criminal record, but it is clear that soon after she left the Migrant Fleet she made the choice to never return. Instead, she spent her formative years doing odd jobs for various corporations, one of which paid a scholarship to one of the galaxy's best scientific universities in the Systems Alliance.

It was there Eire's true self began to emerge. She was noted by classmates as being distant, quiet, and unnerving. She displayed a distinct lack of emotion at all times. No one ever saw her become angry, or upset, or happy, or display that she felt anything at all. She was mechanical, robotic, and cold to anyone she encountered, but it never seemed malicious, only distant.

Her professors noticed this behavior as well. She was a brilliant student who acquired dual degrees in biology and engineering - but more than one professor noted concerns with her demeanor. It wasn't clear what interested or drove her outside of a desire for general knowledge in her fields. However, she had attracted a few other parties – particularly the AIS.

The Alliance recruiting Quarians, especially ones who are exiles or on pilgrimage, is not unprecedented. The relationship between the two species is fairly strong, and the AIS were interested in her participation in a particularly sensitive project. We were not able to learn what this experiment was, but we do know that it involved quite a bit of experimentation on captive subjects in a Terminus black site that has since been destroyed.

Eire worked with the Alliance for nearly a decade before departing under unclear circumstances – circumstances we now understand to be intentional in nature. Whatever Eire was working on had been completed, and she was moving to the next phase, which involved integrating herself with the one organization that had the resources, and lack of restrictions in the region – HIVE.

Golo was one of a few criminal outfits and corporations who had been waiting for her to go freelance and pounced on the opportunity when it happened. Golo was reportedly surprised – and suspicious of - how easy it was to convince her, but nonetheless he offered her a place in HIVE.

It quickly became apparent that she was significantly more experienced than many of the division heads already, and in mere years she went from a HIVE recruit to being tapped to lead the Circle of Innovation, able to pursue whatever she wished to her heart's content. Whatever suspicions Golo had apparently melted in the face of what she could do for him.

She is one of the most feared people within HIVE, not because of her personality, but complete lack of one. There are many jokes that Eire is the only person that Golo is unnerved by, but none are brave enough to say that to her face. Although if she heard such jokes, it would likely not bother her.

She doesn't waste her time on the opinions of those beneath her.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: Discerning both psychology and motivation is significantly more challenging than it sounds because Eire is unlike any Quarian that I have looked at. It says something that we have examples of Quarians with significant mental damage and trauma that defines them and explains their actions - but what defines Eire is her complete lack of either.

She does not seem capable of expressing emotion, even if she likely feels it. She speaks rarely, and when she does, it is in monotone. Each word is chosen very precisely, and she only says what she thinks she needs to. She has no friends, she has no desire to have a family, and has been known to work alone for months on end without stopping.

It seems impossible to believe that she is truly driven by anything, but clearly all of this is a means to some end. The most plausible idea is that it is the process itself which thrills her, but it is also clear that this is insufficient to explain what she is working towards. She is definitely pursuing something, but what that is, and why she cares at all, remains a mystery.

What is another mystery is why she is the way she is. She experienced no traumatic event as far as we can tell, nor can she be considered a sadist or even derive pleasure from the horrific experiments she oversees. She is amoral in the purest sense of the word; detached to a degree that even Golo seems wary of.

She is far too useful for Golo to ever get rid of, and she's competent enough at managing the Circle, but she seems to have little care for anyone else on the Circle, and delegates actual interaction to others.

It seems likely that a reason why the Circle of Innovation's previous staff haven't been more vocal or combative against the changes is because they fear that she'll put them on the vivisection block without a second thought.

It is to the point where people will prefer to deal with Golo than speak to his Circle Commander. Golo, whatever one can say about him, is a man who is alive. Eire is a soulless automaton whose motivations are as enigmatic as her face.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: As was implied, Eire is almost certainly an AIS asset - though we are not sure if she is an active one or not, nor how much independence she has. Given what has been displayed, it is likely that Eire is continuing to work with the AIS of her own volition, and is not being coerced or otherwise directly influenced.

Whatever Eire is working towards, she is working in conjunction with the AIS, which means that the AIS almost certainly has assets working within the Circle of Innovation, and there is intermittent communication between the two parties. The exact nature and methods of this relationship are nebulous, but they do exist, and Golo appears to be unaware of them.

Eire has no care for, or knowledge of, the growing political movements within the Circle of the Fallen, likely deeming them irrelevant to her work, or that of the Circle. Eire is brilliant, but she is no political savant, nor good at maintaining loyalty. She is not an incompetent manager, but she is impersonal to the degree she frightens people – and they have seen her do things that even Golo winces at in the labs without so much as blinking.

HIVE is a means to an end for her, and her fate seems tied with whatever the AIS cell she is involved in. If we find the answer to that, we will likely find that answer that has driven Eire to undertake so many radical steps.

---

YEMAR BZUAYEHU, THE SHIFTER'S VOICE

SPECIES: Human

GENDER: Female

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Intelligence

BIOGRAPHY: There is a pattern for people working for the Shifter, especially those closer to his inner circle, to have suspiciously scrubbed backgrounds. Typically, the more problematic their past (criminally or politically), the more details are actively erased to the point where constructing a background becomes difficult.

Yemar Bzuayehu is no exception, and much like others employed by the Shifter, her background is suspiciously empty. However, there is also another pattern with the Shifter's people, in that he's quite willing to employ the victims of political consequences in exchange for their services, leading to many of them coming from such situations.

Outside of the Asari, there is no other species which has as much infighting and elite politics than the Systems Alliance, and in particular, the High Lords of Sol. Given that the Shifter is willing to employ the former General Kinnix, that he'd also take in Yemar is hardly a surprise. While the details are difficult to verify, we were able to find some information on her.

The first is that she is not a Lord, nor explicitly associated with any of the Houses, Third-Rank or higher. However, we do know that she held a moderately high rank in the AIS, and may or may not have already been an existing contact of the Shifter's prior to everything going down which forced her ouster.

There are two working theories that led to her current situation. The first is that her double-loyalties were discovered, and she fled, indicating that her escape wasn't politically motivated. The second is that she was a victim of interdepartmental power plays within the AIS, and she was aligned to the wrong person.

Such power struggles are not unheard of, and while the Lords tend to keep their inter family squabbles from directly affecting the departments and agencies, there are always exceptions, and if House Chu wants to shake up the middle management, there are ways to get that done. We have been able to confirm that the AIS did undergo some leadership changes during this period, and that's usually a sign that something happened internally.

Unfortunately, this was not able to be confirmed, but such a scenario is plausible. Regardless of the reasoning, Yemar left the Alliance, and almost all public records of her are practically erased. She showed up working for the Shifter mere months later, first directly working as an analyst and field agent, and before ultimately being tapped as Circle Commander for the Circle of Intelligence.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: It is difficult to ascertain Yemar's personal motivations because she has insulated herself so close to the Shifter that we cannot assess if she has any actual personal motivations beyond service within the Circle of the Fallen.

Regardless of the reasons for this, Yemar is extremely loyal to the Shifter, and it is almost certain that he is the only one she allows to trust. She is extremely paranoid by nature, likely a result of her time in the AIS, and she has not lowered the barriers she has constructed around herself since the time.

She is intensely focused on accountability and operational conduct. She treats even those working under her as potential traitors, and will regularly audit their behaviors, missions, and finances. She is extremely good at finding out if there are any individuals who have double loyalties, and it is likely that the Shifter placed her in the Circle partially because if anyone is going to be susceptible to other interests or parties, it would be there.

She is a very good administrator and task delegator. She keeps information on the need-to-know basis, and is skilled at knowing when and where to share information, and when to involve the Shifter. These skills have elevated her in the eyes of the Shifter who considers her someone who he can trust to operate autonomously, while also keeping him informed when matters truly need his attention.

However, any personal ambitions that Yemar might have appear to not exist. She doesn't even appear interested in eventually assuming control of the Shifter's entire operation, nor has she ever asked for the promotions she's received. Being alive seems to be enough for her, and she appears to want nothing to do with the Systems Alliance ever again.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: The intentions and plans of Yemar are tied to the Shifter; she does not act autonomously in this way, and it would be extremely out of character for that to change. She has almost certainly communicated the existence of the Perfect Circle in detail to the Shifter, but we have no indication that the Shifter has decided to support it, if he'll stay neutral, or even attempt to resist it.

During the initial investigation, we believed that the Shifter was slowly grooming her to succeed him, as she is ideally suited in many respects for the role. However, we've recently ascertained that Yemar is not the individual that the Shifter is viewing as a successor (We were unable to determine who this individual is, or if they have been chosen, but it is likely a dedicated investigation would uncover this).

It is likely that the reason for this is that the Shifter considers some of Yemar's more problematic flaws – particularly her inherent distrust of everyone, and her distaste for politics – a poor fit for what he sees his role as. Instead, he likely values her loyalty, and knows that is an extremely valuable asset for anyone in his position.

If we want to look at what Yemar will do next, and how she will use the Circle of Intelligence, we are better off looking at what the Shifter is doing. For better or worse, she will not act without his explicit instruction.

---

VARYS, WHO REMEMBERS FIRE

SPECIES: Drell

GENDER: Male

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of Retribution

BIOGRAPHY: Remembrance Dancers, be they from the Hanar, or from the Remembrance organization itself, are similar in many ways. Not least of which being that many Drell in Remembrance are directly released from service to the Hanar as a reward for their service (or as the conspiratorial would say, are active spies or agents).

Remembrance Dancers are more than just assassins for hire. They are often religious, philosophical, reserved, and professional. They do not let their emotions get in the way of their work, but they are not sadists or thugs that act for money, fame, or other material drivers. They are the perfect living tools, detached from their actions, and absolved through their internal beliefs or philosophies.

Varys does not hold to this convention.

The Commander of the Circle of Retribution may be a professional, but that is where the similarities to other Remembrance Dancers end. He grew up not on the Hanar worlds, nor in the Terminus or Citadel Space, but under the smog-choked skies of Rakhana itself. His earliest days were in service to his mercenary band, and for a brief time under the Empire of Rakhana.

He has never revealed how he left, but he emerged from that early life hardened. Rakhana Drell are defined by their bitterness, hardiness, and animosity towards their own species and the Hanar. Thus it is unexpected that Varys ended up within Remembrance, though it presumes that he is a wanderer, and has no plan of his own.

Fen himself has noted that Varys lacks the typical reserved mindset of a Remembrance Dancer. Technically, Varys is a master assassin that can easily match any member of Remembrance – but he lacks the detachment considered a hallmark of the organization. Varys does not view himself as a tool, nor does he seek to be a passive actor in employing his skills.

It is very likely that this is why Fen placed Varys within a position in the Circle where he would be able to hold a management role, and make active decisions about where, how, and when to strike. It is known that Fen is watching Varys closely, and privately holds doubts about him, but is also acutely aware that Varys is very dangerous, and should not be dealt with without very good reason.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: Each Remembrance Dancer chooses a core memory or concept that is intended to anchor them as they conduct their work. According to their writings, it is to further assist in the detachment and allow them to be wielded by their masters or employers as needed, as they fall into this core memory.

As a result most memories or concepts chosen are intended to soothe or relax, and Dancers usually do not care about uniqueness. Water, rivers, rest, peace, all of these are known Remembrances. Varys' is fire. No one but him knows its meaning, but given his upbringing and past, it very likely refers to Rakhana and the chaos, death, and misery of that world.

Varys' Remembrance is not intended to soothe and detach him, but instead serve as a motivator while he works. He will not openly question the ways of the Remembrance Dancers, but he will make a point to not employ them. He has expressed no interest in religion; philosophy he considers a waste of time; and he views those who willingly subordinate themselves as tools of others with disdain.

He will usually not associate with others very much, and most Drell outside of Fen he will not interact with, or only if work demands it. He is notably more comfortable around aliens than his own people, and that is because he, like most Rakhana Drell who leave, is resentful and suspicious of them for effectively abandoning Rakhana to die.

It is for this same reason that he hates the Hanar, and bristles at any veneration of the Enkindlers. He fundamentally sees both as his enemy, and Prothean ruins and technology as something to destroy or deface than utilize. This is an aspect of himself he keeps a careful guard over; few even know this tension exists between him and the wider Remembrance organization.

He wants people to view him as a professional here to do his job, but we are hard-pressed to say that he truly cares about the fate of the Circle, or the mission. This is a means to an end for him, and only him.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: Despite the complicated relationship between Fen and Varys within the Circle, the latter very likely will not do anything to dramatically shift the Circle of Retribution or act in a way that undermines his own position, but there have been a few things that have appeared of late worth noting.

The first is that there is some idea of what Varys' endgame is – a return to Rakhana. The details of what this entails are unclear, there is something to suggest that he legitimately wants to undertake some effort to help the Drell still on it, but how that could be done is a mystery due to the myriad of interests and factions on the world – none of which he appears to support.

The second is that he's been associating with Eiron more and more, which is strange because of his animosity towards most Drell. We have a very good idea of why Eiron is an exception to this, but that will be detailed in his own section. The exact nature of their relationship isn't clear, though it seems to imply that Varys is considering whatever advice Eiron is providing, and aligning to him in some important matters.

Varys is surprisingly open to the idea of the Perfect Circle, and views it as a natural progression of the Circle's mission and reach. He has not made this widely known, but when he does, it will likely be a jolt to many, as most expect Remembrance to take a neutral view given their reputation.

But as should hopefully be clear, Varys is not a mere tool, and as time passes it seems inevitable there will be a confrontation between him and Fen, especially considering the latter's relationship to the Hanar.

---

SERAS'JORR JAS DELTA

SPECIES: Quarian

GENDER: Male

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of DELTA Operations

BIOGRAPHY: There are very few people who are truly blank slates. Even the absence of history is often a clue in and of itself, and combined with other details allows a picture to emerge as to who an individual was, and how they have been shaped. Even the most normal, unassuming, and unimportant person has a history, no matter how bland or empty.

Seras'Jorr jas DELTA has nothing at all.

Nothing.

I spent a significant amount of time trying to track down anything that might have a scrap of information that shed light on who this man is or where he came from and there is nothing. The Network has nothing. The STG had nothing. The Citadel had nothing. The Migrant Fleet had nothing. Aria, the AIS, no one knew had anything that indicated who this man was or where he came from.

It's as if he materialized out of thin air and began working.

Seras is an enigma in the worst way. A true ghost of the galaxy who has no past, has an unknowable future, and operates strictly in the present. He is shrouded, close-lipped, and manages even his own organization with an obsessive micro-management to completely control all information.

Before he became associated with the Circle, his clientele list was small, and limited to only a few wealthy patrons, the Terminus Precursor Authorities, and certain Celestial Council cutouts. The truly intriguing detail? DELTA has their own agenda when it comes to operations – when they're not doing work, they're actively looking for and dealing with anomalous activity on their own initiative.

Why?

We don't know, but we do know that it's on the direct orders of Seras. It is difficult to ascribe anything to a true ghost of the galaxy, but he is not a blank slate. He has traits and indicators that can let us sketch out something – but what we cannot discern is what his ultimate endgame is. He executes his role in the Circle well, but he almost certainly has another agenda he is pursuing.

That we do not know it is troubling.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: Seras is a man of very few words. Of all the members of the Circle, he has spoken the least, and when he has it has usually been cause for all of the Circle to pay attention. This is almost never a good sign.

Seras is extremely territorial when it comes to his mission and responsibilities. He inherently considers all anomalous activity or exploration his domain, and takes very poorly to anyone attempting to explore or raid places that are home to even weaker anomalous activity.

He has notably butted heads with the Shifter of all people multiple times, flatly warning him to stop attempting to explore and "acquire" dangerous activities or artifacts that is the operational mission of DELTA. There have supposedly been run-ins between Shifter's people and DELTA teams on more than one occasion, and while those have never turned violent, it has prompted Seras to put his foot down and force some kind of confrontation.

This is a good segue into the fact that Seras demands and exercises extreme control over DELTA and the conduct of its personnel. He is involved within every Unit, and while we cannot affirm any academic credentials, it's fair to assume that he has extensive knowledge of the field of anomalous activities, and certain precursor civilizations.

There are some rumors that he takes part in Unit Five operations, but we are unconvinced by this because Seras has never once been seen armed. His suit may have defenses or automated weaponry, but he's never so much as carried a pistol for self-defense. The only thing that is continually on his person is some kind of booklet with metallic-colored leaf-like pages, which is almost certainly a field journal or academic reference.

Seras is known to maintain a strictly professional work environment and has high standards and accountability for all personnel. People have to impress him in some way before he spends time on them, and he's cultivated a strong sense of loyalty within DELTA. In contrast it seems few on the Council have gained his respect except Eiron.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: Outside of intervening in situations where he believes that other Circles are encroaching on his Circle of Authority, Seras is strictly apolitical in almost all disputes and disagreements within the Circle of the Fallen. He is first and foremost concerned with executing his designated mission, and doing it well.

He seems strictly unbothered by anyone on the Circle, and has demonstrated an attitude of apathy when it comes to the ambitions or demands of the Lesser Circles. He genuinely does not appear to care about DELTA becoming more important, nor possesses the same kind of solidarity others in Lesser Circles have for each other.

In a way, there is perhaps a reason for this. Given what Seras has likely seen and dealt with, there is little that he would normally fear that is conventional. The Precursor Authorities have noted that Seras seemed to work with them as equals, rather than deferring to them as experts. However the most telling anecdote comes from several Celestial Council documents we were able to recover.

They explicitly designated him as an independent actor, and to treat all encounters with extreme caution. They did not go so far as to label him a threat, but that any encounter with DELTA was to be immediately routed up to leadership and to not engage. It is unknown if this information has been passed to Aurora, or how the latter organization will handle DELTA and Seras.

What is certain, however, is that he demands a certain respect, and one I would advise we adhere to as well. This individual is not like many in the Circle, and we should be under no illusions that he can be dealt with or treated like others can.

---

UIORIAN, KNOWN AS EIRON, EMBODIMENT OF CERAZOR, THE ARCHITECT OF RAKHANA, AND PALADIN OF THE CELESTIALS

SPECIES: Drell

GENDER: Male

CIRCLE OF AUTHORITY: The Circle of War

BIOGRAPHY: This was not a revelation which is included lightly.

I suspect I was not the only one to note that the Uiorian Principles were first written by a Drell, and that subsequently a Drell was involved in the formation of the Circle of the Fallen, which almost too conveniently lines up with exactly what Uiorian wanted. However, there are many things working against such a theory, the biggest being no real evidence beyond idle conspiracies and speculation – not to mention that Uiorian does not fit what is often expected about the Six Hundred.

A large piece of evidence is size – while Uiorian is large for a Drell, he is not out of the bounds of what is expected for a large male of the species. Nor does he seem to have a psychological effect over other Drell that Ilindian appears to. In a word, Uiorian does not fit the image of the Six Hundred, and in this process exposed how little of the Six Hundred or this particular period in Drell history we really know.

To grasp exactly who Uiorian is, much less what his actual plans might be, we have to hold some understanding of the Six Hundred, and as best we can ,what really happened to them and led to their downfall. This period is shrouded in mystery, deception, contradiction, and no one except the still-living Six Hundred really know where everything went wrong and turned Rakhana into a wasteland.

I will not claim this to be a comprehensive overview, but this demanded information on this period, and so I went hunting – and was able to answer some questions, while raising many others.

The first is how exactly the Six Hundred organized and viewed themselves. There is a prevalent belief that the Six Hundred were ultra-secularists in that they sought to destroy the existing Drell Pantheon and traditional religion – which they largely succeeded in doing. What little we were able to verify confirms that the Six Hundred not only destroyed the Drell Pantheon as an institution or practice, they went out of their way to desecrate, taunt, and otherwise prove in every way possible that the gods did not exist.

What is never mentioned is that the Six Hundred had their own belief system, but it was not to the gods in a traditional sense.

The Six Hundred believed that life was artificial – specifically thinking, breathing, complex life. They believed that their own existence was proof that life could be created, but that it did not come through what could be described as magic, but through the application of scientific principles and laws that could be manipulated by beings intelligent and powerful enough.

These gods were referred to as the Celestials. Unlike many religions, the Six Hundred did not worship them, nor even consider them benevolent. However, they believed they existed, and that it was imperative that all who came to this conclusion were obligated to acknowledge and seek them out.

The reason this is so obscure is that to the Six Hundred, the religion of the Celestials was inconsequential to their material goals. They did not establish shrines or temples to the Celestials, nor hold services or prayers. They did not believe Celestials to be omnipotent, or even aware of their revelation – Thus the entire exercise was a matter that only the truly intelligent could grasp.

Or put another way, only the Six Hundred were worthy of seeking and following the Celestials. Ordinary mortals were not.

This belief system was very important to how the Six Hundred Organized themselves, but for our purposes, there is one role in particular that is important – a word whose best translation is 'Paladin.' Paladins were individuals of the Six Hundred whose purpose was to explicitly seek the Celestials, and acquire their knowledge, secrets, and powers to return to empower the Six Hundred and the Drell.

The second important role to discuss is that of the Embodiments. The Six Hundred were led by a man named Cerazor, which is believed to be the first of the Six Hundred to be created, but this cannot be corroborated. No matter his origin, he became the undisputed leader of the Six Hundred, and the one to whom they looked to for guidance.

Cerazor, as he built the state, created multiple positions that were intended to be extensions of his mind, will, and voice. They were the Architect, the Warrior, the Judge, the Benevolent, the Vengeance, the Mind, and the Heart. There may be more of these Embodiments, but what is important is that each of them were second only to Cerazor in authority and hierarchy within the Six Hundred.

Now, a Paladin here is notable because it is seen as a spiritual calling, not a formal appointment. If a Six Hundred believed they were called to pursue the Celestials, they were recognized as a Paladin. From what we can tell, the Six Hundred took their spirituality in this sense seriously, and only a minority actually requested and received the title of Paladin.

Uiorian was unique in that, as far as we can tell, is the only one of the Embodiments to simultaneously be a Paladin. While exact job descriptions are missing, we understand the Architect to have been primarily responsible for the design, construction, and execution of the society, mindset, and psyche that the Six Hundred wanted to create within the Drell.

In effect, he was to not only constructing an ideal society, its norms, values, and laws, but also seemed to have been intended to alter the very psychology of the Drell over a period of time until they were fully conditioned to serve in the role the Six Hundred wanted.

As should be clear, much of this lines up with Uiorian's particular skills, interests, and capabilities. It is said that the Six Hundred were hyper-intelligent, but I don't think it's often clear what that really means. The Six Hundred fundamentally did not think like people, mortals, do.

I believe the closest comparison to them is the Palavanus. The similarities in many respects are eerie, but they operate on a different level than we can truly hope to understand. Unlike the Palavanus however, the Six Hundred suffered what I believe is the true cause for their ultimate destruction – infighting.

The Six Hundred are believed to be a monolith. They were not in the slightest. In the beginning they were aligned, but once the Blackscale genocide was complete and it was clear they couldn't be stopped conventionally, they began rapidly diverging along their own ideological and religious lines.

The only one who was capable of holding the Six Hundred together was Cerazor, and this is unfortunately where history becomes muddled and contradictory. We know that Cerazor died, but not how or why. It seems likely one of the Six Hundred, potentially an Embodiment, killed him. That was enough to collapse everything.

Embodiments and Paladins alike choose their sides, all of whom had been pretty clearly telegraphed beforehand, and launched decapitations strikes while instituting numerous contingencies. The reason why no Drell seems to know what happened is because it seems like everything happened at once and the Six Hundred destroyed themselves as quickly as they had taken them over.

No matter how or what took place, it can be safely assumed that the downfall of the Six Hundred ultimately came by their own hands, but it very much did not wipe them out. It is almost certain that some of the Six Hundred roam the galaxy, while others are likely still in hiding on Rakhana, while of course Ilindian and his trio rule the Imperium.

On a tangential note, it is almost certain that Ilindian is also an Embodiment, which we believe to be either the Benevolent or the Heart, considering his treatment of his subjects and his overall approach to their management. That is for further investigation.

We don't know how Uiorian escaped, or what he did before emerging to run his little experiment – but I believe that we can ascertain a primary motivation for him in this context. He is fulfilling his role of a Paladin and pursuing the Celestials – and everything he has done is a means to that end.

PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATIONS: Uiorian is a master of psychology, acting, and manipulation. No one in the Circle of the Fallen seems to have a bad word to say about him, yet if you listen to all of the stories, you could very easily become confused because it sometimes seems as if 'Eiron' is multiple people.

He is a man of good humor and relaxed demeanor, or a no-nonsense hardman who accepts no backtalk. He is an empathetic and understanding man who will listen to one unburden their heart, or a ruthless pragmatist who will execute defenseless captives or civilians without a moment of hesitation.

Uiorian possesses a polymorphic personality which he strategically employs depending on what is most effective against who he interacts with. It is genuinely impossible to discern his 'real' personality because that assumes that such a thing exists. Looking at personality alone I do not think is sufficient, especially for one of the Six Hundred, and one whose role it was to psychologically shape an entire species.

How he goes about executing his true motivations is a greater insight. First, it seems that Uiorian prefers speaking and diplomacy to violence or violent enforcement. The entire Circle of the Fallen is based on the premise that cooperation is superior to regional warfare. He has personally intervened quietly multiple times to defuse tensions, smooth over disagreements, and talk down people on edge.

He is certainly capable of violence if pressed, but it is notable that it is not his first choice, and he ironically appears to consider violence a personal failure if he cannot prevent it. Secondly, he clearly prefers to execute his long-term objectives through institutionalism. The Circle of the Fallen is a highly organized and specialized apparatus, geared towards each organ being able and willing to support the other.

It is easily one of the most powerful tools one could have at their disposal, and ultimately it seems that Uiorian does see it as a tool, albeit an extremely powerful one. All of his efforts to promote the Perfect Circle represent a concerted effort by him to evolve the Circle of the Fallen into its next proper iteration – which he clearly views as necessary for his plans.

It is extremely difficult to determine if Uiorian holds any individuals in high regard or cares for them at all. He is very close to Venethix, and is good friends with several Circle Commands, and holds respect among multiple members – but it is frankly impossible to tell if this is genuine, or a means to an end.

Uiorian is ultimately an individual who simply does not think like we do, and whose true motivations are among the most alien we can identify in this galaxy.

INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND LEANINGS: Uiorian clearly intends for the Perfect Circle to succeed in their endeavors and shape the Circle of the Fallen to his liking. In his view, this would almost certainly mean that he has decided that Aria and Omega need to be displaced as the undisputed hegemon of the Terminus, and the Circle take their place.

How exactly he intends to achieve this without igniting a region-wide conflict is unknown, but given that he has been quietly influencing the movement, pushing Venethix to assert herself against Aria, and making a few other preparations, he clearly does not intend to let the status quo endure.

How this relates to his pursuit of the Celestials is not entirely clear. We are certain that Uiorian has not abandoned his role of Paladin, but it is irritatingly nebulous as to what a Paladin is supposed to do if they actually find one of the elusive Celestials. It may differ depending on each individual Paladin, which begs the question of what Uiorian would do if he finds one.

I believe we should also be concerned by how he is friends with Seras'Jorr and the rest of the Circle of DELTA Operations. It is almost certain that Seras is unaware of who 'Eiron' is, and that he is being used. It is not certain what Uiorian would do or learn from that particular Circle, but in this context, his interest now makes far more sense.

Uiorian has almost certainly committed to his next move, whatever it is, and it seems unlikely that he can be deterred one way or another. Time will tell if this gambit succeeds, or if he even means it to at all.

---

CONCLUSION

It seems trite to once again position one of these organizations at a crossroads, but it is impossible to argue that the Circle of the Fallen is immune to this phenomenon. However, unlike Omega, whose empire is poised to end, the Terminus Clan, who may go through a new evolution, the Circle of the Fallen is the newest in context of recent history.

It has existed only for decades, and it does not face collapse, so much as a natural evolution into something more important than it has been, filled with many people who wish to see this done. The Perfect Circle movement is only likely to become more prominent, and no matter which strain wins out, we will see a new, clear power in the Terminus Systems.

The future of the Circle of the Fallen strikes me as an inverse mirror of Omega, whose rise will come at the expense of the other. Combined with the machinations and manipulations of other parties who have their own agendas, there is a shadow conflict playing out in the Circle because its members also seem to understand the trajectory, and are readying their responses.

What might happen when the threshold is crossed, and the point of no return reached? That is something no one knows, and which we can only speculate on right now. However, few should expect the status quo to somehow win out.

The Terminus Systems are likely to look quite different in the years to come, and there is a strong possibility that it will not be Omega, but the Circle of the Fallen – or whatever it becomes – which is.

Time will tell the final story, but the region appears set to enter a period of change and upheaval.

One where the winner will likely decide its fate for the next millennia.